How ‘Home-Tels’ Are Offering the Comforts of Home and the Service of a Luxury Hotel

All the coziness of home—but you don’t have to make the bed.

For those who struggle with whether to stay at a hotel or rent a home when traveling—will it be five-star service and amenities, or privacy and the feeling you actually live in a place, temporarily?—the best of both worlds is here.

Enter the home-tel: Around the world, posh properties are offering travelers a home-away-from-home feeling plus the deluxe services of a hotel. Chains like Domio, Stay Alfred and Locale are getting in on the idea in multiple cities. The well-designed, cozy spaces are combined with quality service to remind guests that they’re still on vacation—and don’t have to make the bed.

Home-tels are usually made up of multiple units inside a large villa or mansion and have homey amenities like kitchens, laundry units and ample common spaces. But there are also personalized check-in, daily cleaning, a concierge and, in some cases, even turndown and room service.

The Levee

Sivan Askayo

This restored villa in the heart of Tel Aviv was built in 1913. In April 2019 it launched with eight uniquely designed and spacious apartments, including a four-bedroom penthouse. Each is filled with luxurious amenities and Italian furnishings from designers like Moroso, Paola Lenti and Baxter. Apartments have top-of-the-line kitchens and washer/dryers, as well as stacks of art books, and the Levee offers a 24/7 concierge, turndown service and bicycles forseeing the city. A private rooftop lounge is in the works.

Atemporal

Courtesy of Atemporal

Conceived as the imaginary home of a globe-trotting freelance photographer, the nine rooms of this design-forward home-tel are in a renovated 1940s mansion in the center of Lima. For guests who wish to leave their rooms, a salon and leafy garden await, all with perfectly placed seating. Breakfast is served daily, and there’s 24/7 room service, as well as bikes and a car (with driver).

The Grand House

Courtesy of The Grand House

Debuting in March 2019 with a growing portfolio of 11 beautifully appointed private homes in central Rome, this home-tel brand provides guests with a mobile phone and access to its Grand Club, an exclusive space in the city center for working, relaxing or booking an adventure. The Grand House also offers experiences like a day at the Testaccio market with Cristina Bowerman, the only female Italian Michelin-starred chef, or an in-home chamber-music concert.

La Réserve Apartments

Courtesy of La Réserve Apartments

La Réserve operates 10 fully equipped apartments inside a Haussmann-style building in Paris’s 16th Arrondissement. Apartments can be personalized with books and music, stocked with groceries and wine, and rearranged for a reception, for instance. Services include a 24/7 butler and concierge, a dedicated housekeeper and room service. Personal training sessions in the apartment, a boot camp in the Trocadéro gardens and access to the Roland-Garros tennis courts stand in for a gym.